Friday Five - September 15, 2017

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In this week’s Friday Five, MAXIMUS is reading about the rising popularity of single-payer healthcare, steps forward on CHIP reauthorization, CMS action to assist Florida in the wake of Hurricane Irma, and Arizona’s pursuit of Medicaid work requirements.

On Wednesday, Sen. Bernie Sanders introduced his Medicare for All Act, which would create a universal public system for health care funded by taxes. According to the Washington Post, the bill has no chance to pass with the current Congress but is attracting support from many Democrats and reveals a rising level of attention to creating a single-payer option.

Politico reports that the Senate Finance Committee has agreed to a five-year funding extension for the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). The proposed deal would maintain the federal funding percentage for 2018 & 2019, before beginning to drop in 2020. The deadline to formally reauthorize CHIP is September 30.

Five charts from Vox break down where health care in the United States stood in 2016. The charts document who was insured, how they were insured, and how age, race, location, and whether a state expanded Medicaid affected those numbers.

CMS issued 14 waivers for Florida after declaring a public health emergency due to Hurricane Irma. The waivers allow temporary changes to Medicaid, Medicare, and CHIP requirements. These waivers apply to health care providers, hospitals, and medical facilities and are designed to ease access to care and reduce administrative burdens during the crisis recovery.

Arizona plans to move forward with its waiver request to add work requirements for Medicaid recipients, according to the Arizona Daily Star. The controversial concept will need federal approval before being implemented.